


Alita: Angel Of Death

by Thunderfire69



Series: Alita: Battle Angel [1]
Category: Alita: Battle Angel
Genre: And Still Is Salty, Author Was Really Salty Over The Movie Ending, Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Hugo Deserved Better, Hurt No Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Referenced Character Deaths, Unofficial Sequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-01
Updated: 2019-03-01
Packaged: 2019-11-07 08:01:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17956697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thunderfire69/pseuds/Thunderfire69
Summary: An Unofficial sequel to Alita: Battle Angel because I’m salty about the ending and I also wanted to write down my theories for Alita.





	Alita: Angel Of Death

Walking out before the crowd for the Championship Tournament of Motorball felt as if it were happening to someone else, yet also to me all at once. In fact, the events of the past few months barely even felt real, as the memories were only figments of my imagination and if I focused too hard on them, they would shatter.

 

Not like I wasn’t used to living without memories, though.

 

I only had a few memories of my past life, of life before Doctor Ido had taken me under his wing and given me a home, unknowingly endangering his own life. He’d grown to become like a father to me, and I was sure Nova knew this, which made me more scared for his life.

 

And then there was what happened to Hugo.

 

I knew Nova was behind the release of that defence ring. It wasn’t as if it could have just suddenly decided to drop on its own. He’d been watching.

 

I don’t think he was too happy about what I’d done to his puppets, either; Nova had sounded like he didn’t care that I’d stabbed Vector, as if he didn’t care that his most loyal follower was bleeding out, but I was sure he was burning with rage over it. Vector had been practically in charge of Motor Ball, and in sending up the brains of the Champions, and other people, to Nova, for whatever means Nova had in mind.

 

I also happen to know he was upset about Grewishka. He had no reason to mention me killing him, but he did, which showed I’d hit a weak point in his armour; I’d hit one of the support beams holding up his empire.

 

I wasn’t sure if anything I’d done to Zapan had affected Nova, either. Chances were the self-absorbed cyborg wasn’t directly working for Nova, but it was hard to tell for certain. I had a sneaking suspicion Zapan was working for Nova, though; he had known I hadn't killed Hugo, and could have alerted Nova to it.

 

Hugo. God, poor Hugo. He deserved so much better. He deserved a better life. He deserved to live, to learn, to love. To love someone better than me, someone who wouldn't constantly endanger him.

 

Since Hugo had fallen, I’d felt numb in most aspects of my life. The Tournaments became a routine, the battles inside of Motorball a way to take out my anger without doing something stupidly rash, such as going after Nova right this instant.

 

Motorball was also a good form of training, a way of keeping my skills sharp. It put me into a competitive, dangerous arena where the world seemed to shut off and all that was left was me, and the other competitors.

 

And now, stepping out in front of the crowd, I felt nothing. No thrill over being in the Championship Tournament. No excitement over how soon I could be heading up to Zalem. All I felt was the gaping wound Hugo’s absence left in me; I almost couldn’t believe that he wasn’t in the crowd cheering for me right now.

 

The knowledge that this was because of Nova set alight a fresh rage in me. Without thinking about what I was doing, without considering what consequences this might bring, I freed my sword from the new sheath I’d installed on my arm. I raised it, pointed it straight toward Zalem, and let plasma flicker up over my fingers to dance along its blade.

 

The crowd cheered louder at this, believing it to be the act of their Battle Angel Alita, of a champion who dreamed of a life in Zalem. Only one person would be able to see the defiance in this act, and in that moment I prayed he was watching.

 

“I’m coming for you, Nova,” I muttered under my breath, audible to no one but myself.

 

I cast my gaze over the cheering, roaring crowd; some held signs with my name scrawled hastily upon them, some simply yelled as loudly as possible. It was impossible to pick out singular faces in amongst the crowd, but I liked to believe that out of them all, Ido was cheering the loudest, and had the biggest sign.

 

It was a small comfort in the hellish world I was stuck in.

 

Finally, I let the plasma dwindle out, and sheathed my blade again, then turned to skate off and down to the lower levels; it took moments to get out onto the Motorball track, where I lined up beside my competitors. Some were massive, much bigger than I was, and I took a moment to analyse each one in turn.

 

A few of them would be easy targets; big and bulky, with low manoeuvrability. Others were smaller, more lithe, and would be harder to catch and hit. Only a couple of the competitors seemed to really pose a threat, their weapons were hi-tech and they were smart, but my rage would hopefully be fuel enough to beat them.

 

“10 second start warning!” came the voice of the announcer, and I was one of many to crouch down in preparation. I noticed one of the other competitors, a young looking boy, hadn’t even bothered to move, examining his nails with a bored look on his face.

 

“5 second start warning!”

 

I sneaked a final glance at him; he still hadn’t moved. Either he was incredibly good, or incredibly overconfident.

 

“Go!”

 

I shot off, instantly having to swerve to the side to avoid one of the large brutes from ramming into me. I veered up the side, then pushed off the track, leaping upwards and over; as I sailed over his head, I drew my sword free and relieved him off his arms.

 

I landed back on the track, a little heavier than I would have liked, and instantly slid sideways to cut loose his legs. The cyborg yelled a curse as he tumbled forward, landing flat on his face; I wasted no time on sympathising with him, instead veering back up the side of the track to avoid running into him.

 

Instantly one of the more lithe, smart competitors was beside me; a challenge, how fitting. A chance to prove myself a true champion. I veered to the side again, then quickly swung back across to ram into them.

 

It knocked them off their feet, sending them tumbling across the track. One of the larger competitors unwittingly finished the job for me, racing forwards and over their body, crushing them.

 

Again, I reserved no sympathy for them. Instead, my gaze locked on the large brute at the front of the pack who currently had the ball. I sped up, leaving behind some of the tussling competitors to race toward the top end of the game.

 

Instantly one of the competitors took a swing at me, and I leaned backwards, drawing my sword from its sheath as I did so. Their arm swung over my head, and as I righted myself again, I swung the sword behind me to cut free their arm.

 

The cyborg roared in both pain and anger, and swung their other arm around to ray and hit me; I quickly relieved them of their other arm. Then I swept my foot under them, neatly knocking them off their feet and allowing the other competitors to come speeding over their limp body, ripping them apart.

 

There were only five competitors, besides me, who were left now, and we’d almost done a complete lap. As I turned out onto the stretch back towards the starting line, I saw that the one competitor, that young boy, still hadn’t moved, and was standing alone at the start line.

 

I opened my mouth to yell a warning, when he suddenly whirled around, drawing out his own sword, and sliced the oncoming cyborg in half, then deftly swooped up the ball. Then he shot off, taking the lead, and I sped up.

 

I wasn’t the only one to try and chase him, though; two other competitors shot up beside me, while the remaining two battled on the track behind us. This kid was good at Motorball, I’d grant him that; I stuck to the flat track while one of the larger competitors followed him up the side.

 

I spotted his mistake the instant he chose to follow; his larger, bulkier body made for slow, clunky manoeuvrability, which meant that when the boy quickly darted back down onto the lower track, the other competitor couldn’t make the turn and crashed into the side of the track, and was promptly torn apart.

 

I took the chance and whirled around to slice the other cyborg in half, and they dropped face first onto the track; now it was just me and the boy. My eyes narrowed as I focused in on him, and on the ball in his hand. I sped up again, racing up beside him.

 

His eyes flicked over to me, and he appeared unfazed by my presence; he veered up the side of the track, and I chased him. He tried to pull the same trick he did on the other competitor, but I was ready. I turned moments before he did, slamming into him and knocking him down. The ball tumbled from his grip, and I raised my sword.

 

I saw fear flash in his eyes, and for a second, I almost didn’t go through with it. Then I sliced through the biocomponents connecting his legs to his body, sheathed my sword, collected up the ball and sped forward.

 

The crowd went crazy, cheering and roaring and yelling. I took a lap of victory, averting my gaze when I passed the boy again, and slowed down; as I rolled around, I scanned the crowd, shocked when I actually spotted Doctor Ido, who gave me a small wave before turning and disappearing into the masses.

 

I could only hope he’d keep his end of the deal now.

 

I handed the ball over to one of the men down in the pits. He gestured for me exit the arena, but I shook my head.

 

“I’ll be a minute.” Then I powered my skates once again, not to full power but enough to get me going at an average speed. The announcer trying to work out what I was doing faded into the background for a moment, then I slowed down and skidded to a halt in front of the now-legless boy.

 

“Come to finish me off?” He managed, wincing.

 

“You’re a good Motorball player,” I said, then offered him my hand. He looked confused for a second before he took it; I pulled him upright, then lifted him.

 

“What are you doing?” Fear had crept into his voice.

 

“Taking you back to get repaired,” I said, then manually skated the last part of the track and glided down into the pits.

 

“Thanks…?” He trailed off.

 

“Alita,” I told him.

 

A small smile of recognition spread across his face. “The crowd’s Battle Angel. I’m Jax.”

 

“Nice to meet you,” I said, and found I wasn’t lying. As I handed him over to his pit crew, who instantly set about installing new legs to his body, I realised I was the Champion. I was going up to Zalem.

 

Then I glanced over at Jax. He was just as worthy, if not more worthy, of the title as I was. But he didn’t deserve to have his brain cut out of his body and sent up to Zalem in a box. He didn’t deserve to be subject to whatever Nova had in store.

 

I pulled my helmet off my head, letting my hair fall free again, and began to remove my armour. I’d barely gotten it off when some of Nova’s followers burst into the pits and brandished weapons at me. I guess they weren’t even going to bother pretending I was their amazing champion.

 

“Come with us.” 

 

One of them gestured towards a door on the far side of the pits. I’d never even noticed if before, and certainly no one had ever come through it during any time I’d spent here. Now I was shoved through, and into a small, dark, sterile room. I could barely even see my own hands, so I let plasma dance across my fingertips to brighten the room.

 

“Cut that out!” hissed one before another hit him harshly in the back.

 

“Let her do as she wishes. She won’t have free will for much longer.”

 

The one who had been hit grumbled something under his breath, but I was too busy considering what the second guard had said. Had Nova found a way to take away a person’s free will? To bend their morals until they were loyal to him alone? A shudder ran through me and I realised that he might soon be taking control of my body, making me one of his puppets.

 

Then I shook those thoughts off. I was going to get to Nova, and kill him. My hand twisted to tighten on the handle of my blade. Killing these guards would take no effort, and then I would ship myself, whole and intact, up to Zalem.

 

“Alright, let’s get on with it,” the same guard who had spoken just before said. He drew out a sword; it was larger than my own, and suddenly my confidence waned a little. Then my eyes narrowed again, and I tightened my grip on the handle of my sword. 

 

Just before I could draw my own blade, the guard’s eyes turned a cobalt blue.

 

“Stop.”

 

“Nova,” muttered one of the guards, hastily dropping into a bow; the others soon followed suit. I didn’t move, staring challengingly into his eyes. Meeting Nova’s gaze head on.

 

“Hello, Alita,” he said, ridiculously calm for a man who was staring at someone who wanted to kill him, and was going to be shipped up to his front door within the hour. Then he turned to the guards. “Do not damage her. Send her up whole.”

 

“Whole, Nova?” One guard spoke up, almost timidly. “You want her  _ whole _ ?”

 

“Her body is Urm tech. We can study it. Learn from it. Most importantly, she will be an asset. So yes. Send her up whole.” Then the guard jolted back, and when his gaze met mine again, his eyes were no longer an unnatural cobalt colour.

 

“Send her up whole,” he repeated, sounding dazed.

 

For a moment, no one moved. Then a single guard pushed himself to his feet. 

 

“You heard Nova. Send her up whole.”

 

A chorus of agreement rose from the other soldiers. One roughly shoved me in the direction of a large crate. I released my grip on my sword, let the plasma dwindle out, and willingly climbed inside. The guard whom Nova had possessed began to seal me in, and I said a quiet, “Hey.”

 

He leaned closer, giving me a crooked smile. “Nova will be pleased to meet you, Battle Angel.”

 

“Tell him I’m coming for him. Tell him he’s going to die.”

 

The smile vanished from his face, and his eyes turned cobalt once again. “I'll be ready for you, Alita.”

 

Then his eyes returned to their natural colour, and he finished sealing the crate. Darkness enveloped me, and I closed my eyes, willing to let them take to wherever I was going to go.

  
  
  


My eyes blinked open to bright, bright sunlight; instinctively I brought up a hand to shield my eyes from the glare. The room I was in was hot, and I didn’t lay under a blanket but was on a bed. For a moment, I thought I was back at Doctor Ido’s house; then my eyes adjusted and I realised I was in a foreign place.

 

_ Zalem. _

 

I pushed myself to my feet, glancing at myself in the mirror that sat in the corner of the small, shiny room; I looked exactly as I had before, except that my blades had been replaced with my usual feet, which was helpful. The yellow 99 on my shoulder was a small comfort. It was familiar, in more ways than one, and reminded me that I was a warrior.

 

I took the few steps it took to cross the room, gathered my courage and pulled open the door. Whatever I was expecting, this wasn’t it; I’d been expecting soldiers, maybe, possibly even Nova himself. Not a shining, beautiful, gold and silver city with the sun bearing down on it, making it sparkle, families of Zalem residents walking the streets.

 

I certainly wasn’t expecting to look to my left and see Jax leaning against the wall of the building I was in. I jumped back, startled, then quickly recovered myself.

 

“How did you get up to Zalem?” I demanded, instantly suspicious of him.

 

“Good to see you awake,” Jax said, pushing himself of the wall and completely ignoring my question. “Come with me, I know a place where we can talk.”

 

“How did you get up to Zalem?” I repeated insistently. Jax’s eyes narrowed.

 

“I know a place where we can talk,” he said again, and I noticed the way his eyes shifted around to take in the city. He didn’t feel that we were safe here, and then I realised why. Up here, Nova would have even more puppets, even more eyes, even more ways to see everything that happened. Secrecy was best.

 

“Lead the way, then,” I replied, and he took the lead through the shiny, golden city. I found myself studying him from behind as we walked; the way he took each step was very deliberate, as if he took time to carefully plan each and every step he took. Yet at the same time, his posture screamed confidence, and he looked perfectly at ease as he walked through Zalem, despite both of us obviously not belonging.

 

The stares of the residents followed us as we walked, faces turning towards us, each perfect and symmetrical and adorned with those odd purple, almost gem like, things in their foreheads. We were the odd ones out; sure, both mine and Jax’s faces were symmetrical, too, but no purple gem-light in the centre of our foreheads, not even a scar like Doctor Ido had. Our bodies weren’t made of flesh, in fact they were what the Zalem citizens probably viewed as clunky and impractical.

 

We passed so many Zalem citizens; dozens upon dozens of perfect faces, many with families of their own. It was an effort to remind myself that so many of them, any of them, could be Nova’s puppets when so many of them were completely innocent. In that moment, I wondered whether Nova took any of the brains from Zalem citizens.

 

Then I dismissed the thought. From what Doctor Ido had said, Zalem citizens were created perfect. He and Doctor Chiren had been cast out because of their daughter’s “defect”. No doubt having a higher set of skills was considered being less than perfect, too.

 

Caught up in my thoughts and observations, I nearly ran into Jax as he stopped before a building. I caught myself just in time to avoid embarrassing myself, and Jax pressed his palm against the door; it lit up a bright blue around his palm before opening.

 

“Come on,” he said, stepping through. I hesitated. Jax seemed to know his way around Zalem with such ease, and the door had opened upon sensing his palmprint. The palmprint of a  _ cyborg _ . How could I be certain he wasn’t working for Nova?

 

Sensing my hesitation, Jax placed his palm to his forehead. Before I could ask what he was doing, he removed it again, revealing a scar on his forehead, the same as the one Doctor Ido had. 

 

“I was a defect,” he said, rather quickly, and glanced around nervously afterwards. Deciding to trust him, I followed him through the door, which shut behind us, leaving us in pitch darkness. I began to let plasma dance across my armour to light up the room, and Jax made no move to stop me. I unsheathed my sword, which was miraculously still with me, and let plasma dance across its blade. It made a great torch, lighting up just enough of the area for us to see each other.

 

“I was a defect,” Jax repeated, sounding a little more confident now, yet his tone was still hushed. “Nova was the one who made the law about casting out those who were less than perfect, so it’s his fault I was sent down to Iron City. My parents didn’t survive the fall.”

 

“Let me guess; your defect had something to do with you becoming a cyborg down in Iron City?” I mirrored his tone, keeping my voice down, so I was surprised when Jax then let out a loud laugh.

 

“My defect wasn’t what  _ caused  _ me to become a cyborg; it was the fact that I  _ was  _ a cyborg. When I was about eleven, a dangerous murderer was loose in my area of Zalem. He was caught, but not before he decided it would be fun to stab me. Doctor Chiren saved me by making me into a cyborg, but Nova classed me as a defect and cast me out.” Jax’s tone was bitter. “He cast me out and yet he has cyborgs of his own, both down in Iron City and up here in Zalem.”

 

“There’s cyborgs in Zalem?” This was new information to me.

 

“Why do you think he wants the brains and inner organs of Iron City cyborgs? Why do you think he created Motorball?”

 

“He’s creating cyborgs? But with the tech up here… he could build an entire army.” Then it hit me. “A cyborg army. He’s building an army of cyborgs, like me, except he wants  _ my  _ tech and fighting skills.”

 

“I could only assume he was from down in Iron City, but up here I’ve found more and more evidence of it. He wants the best of Iron City, the best fighters.”

 

I couldn’t think for a moment. “Why would he want a cyborg army?”

 

Jax’s tone was grim as he replied. “To conquer not only Iron City, but planets in this solar system. Especially the home planet of the Urms.”

 

“My home,” I breathed.

 

Jax nodded seriously. “Your home.”

  
  


In total, I ended up with two days of freedom in Zalem. In hindsight, those two days were Nova toying with me, torturing me with a taste of freedom that would never be mine. He’d allowed me to roam Zalem, to see the city that I would never call home, to admire the beauty of a place where I would soon kill yet another villain, except that this liked to bend whole worlds to his whim instead of small cities.

 

Those two days were spent with Jax, letting him show me the sights, letting him introduce me to this beautiful sky city. But I couldn’t truly let myself enjoy it; I was constantly aware Nova could show up anytime, or how many citizens could be his puppets.

 

Hours before Nova finally came for me, Jax took me back to the safe house to talk again. I let plasma dance across my Berseker body once again to light the room, and let it wander up to coat my sword blade.

 

“You’re going to kill him.” Jax didn’t have to say the name for me to know he meant Nova, and I nodded in affirmation. “Then I want in.”

 

“Jax, I-” I broke off, unsure what exactly I wanted to say. I’d only known this boy for two days, but I’d grown quickly attached to him. I’d learned little details about him, and noticed little details about him, in a way I hadn’t noticed details about anyone apart from Hugo, until he’d fell.

 

I felt an overwhelming urge to protect this boy; this boy, who knew his way around Zalem like the back of his hand. This boy, who wasn’t afraid to jokingly insult me. This boy, who practically inhaled foods like chocolate and donuts, who scoffed at perfection, who wanted revenge on Nova just as badly as I did.

 

“I don’t want you to get hurt,” I managed to say, though my heart screamed at me to say so much more. To tell him about Hugo, about Dr Chiren, about so many others that I couldn’t possibly name who’ve been lost because of Nova. To tell him how I’d fall apart if one more person I knew was killed because of me.

 

“I won’t get hurt,” Jax replies, flashing me a grin, and I realised he didn’t understand. He didn’t understand, he didn’t understand,  _ he didn’t understand. _

 

“You don’t understand,” I said, my voice rising a little with desperation. “I can’t see another person die because of me.”

 

“This isn’t because of you,” Jax said, reaching out to place his hand atop mine, metal on metal, the same to us as skin on skin. “This is all because of Nova. The sooner he’s gone, the sooner we’ll all be safe.”

 

“I want you to be safe now,” I whispered, but it was a foolish wish. Something a child might dream of, but I was really too old to believe I could make such a thing a reality.

 

Jax simply gave my hand a squeeze, then we sat there for a while before leaving the safehouse. A few hours later, Nova’s soldiers came and took me off to Nova’s laboratory. I didn’t believe in a God, but I still sent up a prayer thanking whoever was out there that Jax had left to get some minor repairs about twenty minutes earlier.

 

Nova’s lab wasn’t far from the room I’d been staying in, the room Nova’s guards had left me in, the room I’d awoken in up on Zalem. I supposed this was to make things easier for Nova, easier for him to retrieve me. 

 

His lab was unsurprisingly bright and shiny, like the rest of the city, every brick and support beam laid perfectly. I wondered if any Zalem citizens had made a mistake while building this lab and had been cast out. It wasn’t completely illogical to believe that some would have, considering that I knew people down in Iron City who had been cast out for much less that Doctor Ido and Doctor Chiren had.

 

At the far end of the lab, stood a tall, shadowed figure; their hair was gray, almost white, and they were staring down at Iron City. I instantly knew this was Nova, as if it could have been anyone else. Then he turned, revealing hideous glasses, which looked more like army binoculars, covering his eyes, and a smile lit up his face, but it just made him look even more unappealing. 

 

“Alita!” His voice was odd, a mix of all the servants I’d ever heard him take over and speak through. “We meet at last.” I stiffened, but the guards behind me were a reminder that I couldn’t attempt to take Nova’s life, at least not yet. Nova crossed the room to stand inches in front of me, and my body stiffened even more, if that was possible.

 

“Nova.” My voice came out cooler than I thought it would, coming off as surprisingly calm despite all the emotions swirling inside of me. Here was the man who had cast out Doctor Ido and Jax, the man who had killed Hugo, the man who had harvested organs from Doctor Chiren and countless Motorball champions.

 

His smile grew impossibly wider at this. “Such amazing technology.” He began to circle me, almost like a vulture circling his prey, and I resisted the urge to flinch away when he ran a hand down one of my arms. “The Urms were so advanced, three hundred years ago. I was honestly surprised that they didn’t manage to destroy Zalem that day. But it doesn’t matter. Now I can study and replicate their tech.”

 

“Never!” I spat, finally finding the courage to speak. “I won’t let you!”

 

Nova chuckled at this, his smile never fading. “Oh, but little warrior, little Battle Angel, you won’t have a choice.”

 

Then one of the guards lunged forwards from behind me, plunging a small device that I could only imagine was some kind of needle directly into my robotic veins. Before I could even cry out in pain, a strange feeling began to fill my limbs. I tried to fight it, but it was like it was slowly consuming me, filling me up and swallowing me whole.

 

And in the next moment, I found myself being tugged towards Nova, to do as he said, to never disobey him. I clenched my eyes shut tight and cried out, trying to fight it off, but it was no use. The feeling simply grew stronger, until suddenly I couldn’t remember why I had resisted in the first place.

 

Nova seemed to brighten upon seeing my face change, and I wondered why I’d resisted; Nova looked so happy in this moment, why would I not want him to be happy? He stepped closer to me, and ran his hand down my arm again, but this time I didn’t feel like flinching away.

 

“So beautiful,” he murmured. “No doubt Hugo recognised this. Such a shame to see him die; he did show such promise.”

 

_ Hugo. _ His name whispered through me like a song, a note that finally had to end. Tears began to well in my eyes, and I fiercely blinked them back; Hugo was long gone, no point crying over him. Besides, I wanted to look strong in front of Nova, to impress him.

 

Suddenly, Nova drew away from me and clicked his fingers at the guards. “Leave me to my work. She no longer poses a threat.”

 

The soldiers obeyed, exiting the lab, leaving me alone with Nova. He ran his hand down my arm for a third, final time before he padded across the room to some odd machine.

 

“Alita, come over here, would you?” He called as he turned the machine on. Instantly my legs moved to obey, and as I did, I saw something, or someone, dart across the room. My eyes narrowed for a second. Didn’t the guards leave?

 

Before I could think about it too much, though, I was at Nova’s side, and he was guiding me toward a metal chair. I allowed him to push me into the seat, and noticed the straps on the arms and legs, and one that would obviously fasten around my waist. I dimly wondered why those were needed.

 

Nova then turned back to the machine. “I’ll get this ready, then I’ll come get you ready too, okay Alita?”

 

“Okay,” I agreed instantly, not wanting to hesitate to obey him. Then a hand clamped over my mouth, and something pricked into my robot veins again. I wanted to cry out, but I couldn’t, and again the feeling of being filled up spread throughout me. Rage at Nova began to build in me, and I let it happen, not even trying to fight to stay loyal to him.

 

In seconds, my mind seemed to return to itself. The compelling urge to obey Nova was gone, and rage festered in its place. My hand clenched into a fist, and I pressed it down hard against my chair to stop myself from moving; the metal chair bent under my fist. The hand over my mouth was removed, and a voice floated quietly into my ear.

 

“Be careful. Don’t strike too soon. Comply with his orders until you see an opening.”

 

_ Jax. _ The cunning, sly cyborg had saved me. Maybe I’d been wrong to try to discourage him from helping me take down Nova. He was persistent, I’d grant him that, but I was back to worrying about him being in danger of being killed.

 

Nova finished with the machine and turned back to me; I assume Jax must have ducked out of sight, since Nova simply smiled at me. He strode across the room, and I made an effort to unclench my fist and appear docile.

 

“Now, we’ll just strap you in, okay, Alita?”

 

“No.” My voice was firm, and I let my hands curl into fists again.

 

Nova’s smile faded. “No?”

 

“No,” I repeated, then pushed myself to my feet; the the same time, Jax slid out from behind the chair to stand at my side. For a moment, Nova didn’t move. Then he opened his mouth to yell for help, and I drew my sword, swinging at him.

 

He leaped back, startled, his hands fumbling behind him for something or other that wasn’t there. I took a pace forward threateningly, and Nova opened his mouth to yell again. I struck out with my sword again, and this time I didn’t miss, the sword sinking into Nova’s gut. His gaze shifted down to stare at the sword, then his mouth closed, then opened, then closed again, like a fish.

 

“That was for Hugo,” I hissed as he crumpled to the floor, blood spilling across the lab. Jax stepped forward to put his hand on my shoulder. 

 

“We’ve got to burn his body. Some immortals like him can regenerate, so we can’t leave a trace.” 

 

I nodded numbly, not bothering to question how he knew this, and pulled my sword from his gut, sheathing it, then stepped back. Jax drew out a lighter, and lit it, letting the flame catch onto Nova’s clothes. In seconds, Nova’s entire corpse was consumed.

 

“Come on.” Jax’s hand caught mine, and he tugged me towards the exit. I followed him out of the lab, and back through the city, waiting and waiting for feeling to return to my body.

 

By the time we reached the place I’d been staying in, I felt somewhat more normal. And I’d finally killed Nova. It wasn’t quite the sweet vengeance I’d thought it would be, but it helped to know he could no longer harm another living soul.

 

“You okay?” Jax asked me, concern lacing his tone.

 

“I want to go home,” I said, barely audible. “I want to go home to Doctor Ido.”

 

“You will,” Jax promised, and then he did something that I didn’t see coming. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine, a kiss that was soft and tentative, almost as if he was worried about overstepping boundaries. I surprised even myself by reprociating, kissing him back with force.

 

Maybe there was something in how reckless he was that reminded me of Hugo. Or maybe there was something in the way that he acted that was so  _ different  _ to Hugo that it drew me in. Maybe I needed this. To find someone to help lessen the pain. Whatever the case, I was glad to have met Jax, and he’d somehow managed to make Hugo’s loss feel somewhat less raw and open.

 

When he finally drew back, he shot me a lopsided grin and lifted his hand in a farewell wave. “See you around, Battle Angel.”

 

I smiled despite all that had happened. “See you around, Jax.”

 

Then he began to walk back down through the streets of Zalem, and I watched him go, his careful yet confident stride somehow familiar to me. He’d never replace Hugo, that was certain, but he was a good person, and I had a feeling I’d walk by his side for a long time to come.

**Author's Note:**

> So this fic turned out longer than I thought it would be (nearly 6k!) and I didn’t really include my favourite character much, but since my favourite character is Zapan, I couldn’t really. Maybe I’ll write some more adventures with Alita and Jax down in Iron City, and they could face off with Zapan. Maybe even team up with him. Who knows? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this fic!


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